The Marauders - A Hogwarts Tale
by MsDeacs
Summary: The Marauders are trying to hide Remus's lycanthropy from Snape who is becoming more and more suspicious. Meanwhile, Voldermort is trying to recruit followers from within Hogwarts and James and friends do not want to be put in a position where they have to say no... DISCLAIMER all characters/places are rightfully owned by JK (the awesome) Rowling :)
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the following characters, they are all owned by JK Rowling. **

**This is my first fan-fic, still getting used to the site...I hope you enjoy!**

CHAPTER ONE – the shrieking shack

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

James heard a whine behind him and rolled his eyes. "What Pettigrew? What?"

Peter Pettigrew sniffed, "Nothing James, I just thought- I just thought I heard somebody coming."

The three of them stood behind the one eyed witch, the only light coming from the tip of James' wand.

"Look Peter, there's nothing on the map!" Sirius said irritably, waving the map in front of Peter's face. "Now will you stop moaning so we can get a move on? It won't be long 'til Remus changes!"

"Yes I know but I don't want us to get into any more trouble, I already have three detentions-"

"Detention or friends, Peter? Detention or friends?"

James watched as the usual little squabble unfolded and grinned. He gave the map a little tap, whispered the magic words and pulled out his cloak from his bag.

"You ladies finished?" He asked, still smiling.

Sirius stopped arguing immediately and a cocky smirk spread across his handsome face.

"Ready when you are James."

And the three of them were no longer able to be seen. It was uncomfortable underneath the cloak but the three of them walked quickly and soon they were out onto the grounds facing the now-famous Whomping Willow tree. James shrugged the cloak off of their shoulders and ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"Man I hate this thing." Sirius grumbled, staring at the tree with disgust.

James laughed, "No where near as much as our furry little friend!"  
Sirius smirked, "True…Wormtail, will you do the honours?"  
The two boys turned to look at their friend. The moon was slowly rising higher in the sky and they didn't have much time. Peter smiled feebly and glanced around nervously. Then he knelt onto the floor and began to change. The hair on top of his head spread all across his body which was rapidly shrinking, his arms and legs disappeared to make way for tiny little paws, and finally a long, thin tail uncurled itself from behind him. Peter was no longer a boy…he was a rat.

The rat poked its head up at his friends who gave him an encouraging nod and then he ran. The Whomping Willow whipped its branches out quickly – as if to catch him – but Wormtail was too fast, hopping over every swipe and dodging every blow until finally he was at the trunk where he tapped its weak spot and the whole tree froze and revealed a gateway – which Peter dived through.

"He never waits for us." James observed, amused.

"Well, he is a wimp" stated Sirius, casually strolling over to the tunnel that sat at the bottom of the tree.

James picked up his rucksack and followed, the two boys grinning at each other as they started their way into the tunnel.

The tunnel was new, and it was crudely made. At first all you could see was the entwined and twisted roots of the Whomping Willow lining the walls but as you walked you could just make out the change from dirt to stone.

"I still can't believe Dumbledore made all this…" James whispered.

"Yeah…" mumbled Sirius, "You would've thought he had more style!"

James scoffed and then stopped; they had reached it – the Shrieking Shack. The wooden door was ajar and eagerly James pushed it open to reveal a shabby grey room, that had tears all along it's walls and scratches on it's floors. James noticed a rat darting about the room and smiled. Already Peter was getting nervous.

"You're cutting it a bit fine, aren't you?"

James looked at the boy sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. He was a good looking boy, with fine mousey brown hair and deathly pale skin. He had the look of someone who never had enough sleep – most odd about him though, were the four faint white scars that lined his face.

The boy smiled – although it did not quite reach his eyes.

"Sorry Remus, someone got a little panicky." James said walking over to his friend and giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah, you'll never guess who it was." Sirius said sarcastically.

The rat began to squeak from the corner.

"Well friends you are just in time." The boy whispered, gripping hold of the arms of the chair. "You all ready?"

James glanced at Sirius who gave a casual flick of his wand and smirked. "Give us what you got Remus, we'll handle it." He said.

Remus laughed through gritted teeth, James noticed the fur sprouting from his hands. "He's changing, get ready guys!" He gave his friend one final pat on the back and sprinted beside Sirius. The two of them watched as their friend began to writhe and spit and change before them.

"This is gonna be fun." Sirius exclaimed, clasping his hands together, and as he did he too began to change form – but not in the same way as Remus which appeared to be more of an inner struggle. Sirius elegantly bent his human form into a new one and was soon a large, imposing dog that wasted no time in chasing after the smallest animal in the room.

James ran a hand through his hair again. Remus was almost completely changed now and he decided it was time for him to join his friends.

_Scene changes..._

The next day Remus had several new scratches added to his already impressive collection.

"Sorry about that by the way." Sirius said, as the four of them sat down to breakfast.

Remus shrugged, "I hardly noticed."

Sirius then did what he always did and detailed his personal highlights of the previous night, Remus listening vaguely interested as he helped himself to food, while Pettigrew laughed at all the right moments, his watery eyes wide – as if grateful to have been included.

James would normally have joined in with a few of his own anecdotes but this morning his thoughts were elsewhere. Letting his friends continue their conversation, James slowly got up and wandered over towards a red-headed girl who sat silently reading only a little further along the Gryffindor table.

"You still not talking to me Evans?" He said quietly.

"You still hexing Severus?" She answered coldly, turning to face him.

He could feel his friend stop their conversation and watch him.

James opened his mouth then closed it again before finally saying. "What if I'm not actually hexing him, what if he's just standing in the way of my hexes?"

Lily narrowed her eyes, "Is it possible you've grown an even bigger head over the holidays Potter?"

James smiled and leant back slightly, "Is it possible you've grown even more beautiful over the summer?" He asked casually, scruffing up his hair.

Lily stood there momentarily, stunned. "Get lost Potter." She said finally, and she stormed out of the Great Hall. James sighed before returning to his friends and smiling, "You know I think I'm making progress...she didn't swear at me at all this time."

Sirius burst out laughing, his black hair falling in front of his eyes. "Prongs, that was truly pathetic!"


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own any of these characters or the setting that they are in, they are all rightfully owned by JK Rowling.**

**Hello again, this is following off from Chapter One (obviously aha) but focuses more on good ol' Remus this time, enjoy! **

CHAPTER TWO – Remus's memory

James and Sirius were equal in almost every aspect. They were both adored across the school, excelled in the same subjects and wreaked the same amount of havoc wherever they went but when it came to Quidditch…well they both played for Gryffindor's house team but James was truly in a league of his own.

"What's the deal with you and Evans anyway?" Sirius asked, as he pulled on his Quidditch robe.

James ran a hand through his hair, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Said Sirius, raising an eyebrow, "You ask her out, she turns you down, you wait a few months and you do it all over again. What's the deal?"

James shrugged, "Dunno."

He could hear the screams of the crowd through the Gryffindor tent. "Padfoot, do we have to talk about this now? We have a match to play!"

Sirius sniggered and picked up his beaters bat. "Yeah, against Hufflepuff. I heard Terrence Pot sneaked some more fire whisky from the kitchens again last night. They'll all be hung over as usual."

James laughed, "You know sometimes I regret letting him know where the kitchens are."

Sirius shrugged, "I don't, I just wish they left some for us occasionally."

James grinned, "Don't worry, we'll get some tonight for when we celebrate."

The team was almost ready and Sirius took hold of James' shoulder.

"Look Prongs, you're my best mate, you know that, right?"

James looked at his friend, who looked suddenly more solemn than usual.

"Yeah, 'course I do."

"I just don't want you getting hurt by some girl that isn't worth it, that's all." Sirius said calmly.

James thought of Lily, was all the embarrassment he put himself through worth it?

"Trust me," he said, "She's worth it. She's brilliant."

Sirius eyes widened briefly before he straightened up and said, "Okay then, let's go kick some Hufflepuff –"

"Will the Gryffindor team please make their way onto the pitch!"

The two boys smirked and lined up with the rest of their team.

There was nothing like it. The scream of the crowd as they were led onto the pitch, the sight of red and gold banners being waved frantically from the Gryffindor stand, and the pounding of his heart as he gripped onto his broom.

Madame Noir – the flying teacher and referee – stood in the middle of the pitch. The two teams either side her, feet still firmly fixed on the floor.

"As always," She shouted, her high-pitched voice filling the stadium, "Play well and play fair!"

With that she opened the trunk and released the bludgers and the snitch and took the quaffle under her arm. Both teams now focused on Madame Noir, she held the whistle to her lips and blew.

They were off.

James kicked hard at the ground beneath him and pulled himself up to face the other Hufflepuff Chasers, Madame Noir would throw the quaffle into the air any second now.

He glanced around the pitch and smiled – Sirius was right, almost all of the Hufflepuff team looked sluggish on their brooms – it must have been a late night.

Remus and Peter watched avidly from the Gryffindor stands as they cheered for their house team. Remus felt slightly exhausted from the night before, as he always did the night after the full moon…but still, he didn't have to worry about the change for another month now…

"Hey Remus!" Lily appeared beside him with her friend Mary, she smiled kindly.

"Oh hey Lily, hey Mary." He replied, at the same moment the crowd gasped as James nearly went flying off his broom by a bludger. He recovered quickly though, and continued to circle the pitch – clearly keeping his eyes peeled for a tiny speck of gold.

"That was close…" He mumbled, returning to Lily, "What's up?"

Lily drew her eyes from the match and back to Remus, "Oh erm, I just wanted to remind you that we're on Prefect duty tomorrow."

Remus smiled, "Yes I know. Professor Dumbledore was kind enough to remind me this morning."

"Oh okay," She turned back to the pitch and sighed as James and Sirius high-fived mid-air.

"AND BLACK SCORES, 30 – 10 TO GRYFFINDOR!"

"They really boost each other's egos don't they?" She grumbled.

Remus couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, I suppose they do."

Next to him Peter's cheers were beginning to deafen him.

"He's really not that bad y'know Lily."

Lily's eyes narrowed, "How can you defend him Remus? Potter and Black are continuously picking on Severus! I mean only last week Potter bat-bogey hexed him!"

Remus nodded and smiled slightly, "Yes but Snape isn't as blameless as you think… I believe the reason James hexed him was because he had labelled James' family as blood-traitors-" Lily opened her mouth to argue but Remus cut her off "-plus Snape's friend Avery put a disillusion charm on James' broomstick, it took him two hours to locate."

Lily frowned, "I have told him to stop hanging around with them." She muttered.

Remus shrugged, "Either way I'm not saying James is in the right, I know he can be a little…cocky at times but Snape does also go out of his way to cause trouble for James."

"But why?" Lily asked exasperated.

Remus couldn't help but smile a little, he thought the reason why Snape and James hated each other so much was clear to everyone except Snape, James and Lily.

"Well, some people just clash don't they?" He said.

At this moment Peter grabbed hold of Remus' sleeve and began tugging with all his might.

"Mooney! He's found it, he's found the snitch!"

Remus spun around, indeed it did look as though James had spotted the snitch. He was flying down toward the ground ridiculously fast, it looked at any moment he was going to crash head-first into the ground. At the very last second he pulled up from the ground, his hand grappling the air and then screams erupted around him.

"HE'S CAUGHT IT! JAMES POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH, 180 – 20, GRYFFINDOR WIN!"

Remus frowned and turned to Peter, "When did Hufflepuff score their second goal?"

It appeared he had missed chunks of the game talking to Lily.

Petere was grinning, red flushed to his cheeks, "After Mulciber pummelled Smith with that bludger!"

Remus shrugged and watched as the players dismounted their brooms and watched smiling as Sirius and James patted each other on the back, grinning, reminding him so strongly of when they had clapped him on the shoulder…

_Three years earlier…_

_Remus was at lunch waiting for his friends; he glanced around him to see if they were about…they still weren't there. He checked his wizarding watch, nope he was definitely on time…where were they? They were normally here by now! Sighing he stood up, maybe they had lost track of time in Myrtle's bathroom. He knew sometimes Sirius and James liked to plan their pranks there (nobody ever went inside Myrtle's bathroom you see) and no doubt if Peter had been around he would have followed them. _

_Sighing he stood up and took one last bite of his food before heading upstairs. He hoped this had nothing to do with that Snape boy again, he thought as he climbed up the stone stairs…he really was too tired to deal with another argument, especially as he had had to endure the full moon last night. He turned round the corner and opened the door to the deserted girl's toilet and immediately he heard the voices of his friends._

_"I'm telling you Peter, we went inside it today, there is no WAY ghosts could have done that to this building…" He heard James' voice. He hid behind one of the bathroom stalls, his heart beating in his chest._

_"Yeah…" Said Sirius, "And we asked a lady in Hogsmeade when the so-called "hauntings" are, and she told us, she said "at the end of every month." I bet if the old bat paid proper attention, she'd realize it only happens on the full moon!"_

_Remus clapped his hand over his mouth, they'd figured it out…they were never going to speak again. He wanted to leave – to hide, but for some reason his feet remained permanently fixed to the floor._

_"B-but werewolves are dangerous!" Whined Peter, "Remus, Remus isn't d-dangerous is he?"_

_"I dunno," answered James, "Sure explains all those mysterious scratches and scars he's got…" Remus heard him sigh, "Well, regardless, we're going to have to talk to him."_

_Something that sounded very much like a whimper echoed through the bathroom – no doubt Peter._

_"Agreed," Said Sirius, "And we'll have to do something about it-"_

_Remus couldn't listen anymore, he ran out from his hiding place and tripped onto the floor. Surprised by the sound his friends turned around to see Remus splayed on the cold, tiled ground. He sat up._

_ "Please!" He practically begged, "Please don't tell anyone! I mean I – I understand if you don't want to hang out anymore but please…don't tell anyone!"_

_James and Sirius exchanged quizzical glances, Peter standing huddled behind him._

_Jamed laughed and ruffled his hair. "You're an idiot Lupin!" He exclaimed, "We weren't going to rat you out to anyone!"_

_He held out a hand, which Remus hesitantly took, and pulled him up from the floor._

_Remus gazed in shock at his friends, "Bu-but you said you'd have to do something…."_

_Now it was Sirius' turn to laugh, "Well yeah you daft prat! We're going to have to find a way to keep you company aren't we? I mean the Shrieking Shack ain't exactly homely is it?"_

_Remus shook his head roughly, "No you can't…no humans can come near me when I'm…when I'm like that."_

_James grinned, "Well I'm not sure if you've noticed Remus but we are the smartest in our year, we'll think of something."_

_Remus wanted to shake his head again, to talk them out of a completely crazy plan, but hope had begun to blossom in his chest, it would be so wonderful not to be alone at the full moon…_

_He faced Peter, "Are you comfortable with this Peter?" He asked quietly._

_Peter's round face looked up at the trio, his face broke out into a weak smile… "Yes…" He squeaked, "We'll do what we can."_

_Remus let out a breath that he wasn't even aware he was holding. James and Sirius clapped their hands on his backs._

_"See?" Said Sirius, "Even gutless wants to help!" _

_He winked at Peter who blushed pink and gazed at the floor._

_James grinned, "We weren't going to abandon you Remus!" He exclaimed incredulously, "We're you're mates! What kind of mates would we be if we did that?"_

_Remus had no answer, he couldn't think, he was so overwhelmed with happiness for a brief moment he thought he might explode from it…_

"Remus? Remus you okay? You look all funny!"

Remus was pulled out of his memory, he and Peter were the only two left in the Gryffindor stands now, Peter looking at him with a worried expression on his scrunched up face.

"Yeah, yeah…" Remus replied, "Let's get back to the common room."

He smiled and began to walk out the stands, a completely bewildered Peter close on his tail.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - I do not own the neither the characters nor the places used in this fan fiction, both characters and setting are rightfully owned by JK Rowling.**

**Continuing from the last chapter, but this time introducing Snape...enjoy!**

Chapter Three - Snivellus

Remus crawled through the hole in the wall that led to the Gryffindor Common room, immediately the sound of cheering reached his ears. Peter let out a squeal of delight at all the food that was piled on the table next to the roaring fire.

"Looks like the house-elves were generous this time." Remus murmured under his breath.

His eyes scoured the room looking for James and Sirius, he found one of them soon enough. Sirius was in the centre of the room, surrounded by Gryffindors, animatedly acting out various scenes from the match, his dark eyes glinting with excitement...but when he saw Remus he pulled himself away from the crowd.

"Where'd you get to Moony? Me and James hung around for you but you were no where to be seen!" He flashed a smile at Peter, "What you still doing here Wormy? Thought you'd be scoffing the canary creams by now, I got them thinking of you."

Peter smiled and scuttled off toward the food.

"Where's James?" Asked Remus, "I would've thought he'd be here celebrating..."

Sirius shrugged, "So did I, think he went upstairs though..."

Remus frowned, "Maybe I should go at talk to him-"

"No," cut in Sirius, "I'll go, besides I think Mary Macdonald has been waiting to talk to you." He winked knowingly, Remus' ears turned pink and before Remus could say another word he went rushing up the stairs and into the boys dormitory. Where he immediately found James sprawled across the bed, his shoulders hunched over as he glared down at a yellowing piece of parchment.

"Is he still there?" Sirius asked quietly.

James jumped a little and glanced up, "Yeah..." He mumbled, rubbing his glasses. "I thought he might have moved by the time we'd finished Quidditch but the slimy git's still standing there."

Sirius strolled over to where his friend was sitting, sure enough, right next to the Whomping Willow was the name _Severus Snape _in scrawled, rough hand - writing. Sirius made a hissing noise that sounded remarkably like a cat. "What is old Snivelly doing?"

James sighed and scruffed up his hair, "I think he knows."

"Knows? Knows what?"

"About Remus! D'you remember how he used to ask all those questions to the Professors whenever Moony wasn't in? I knew he thought something was off then...I just didn't think he'd figured out how much..."

Sirius frowned, "But come on! How in Merlin's pants would he figure it out?"

James shrugged, "Same way we did I guess, he's not stupid and he does have a knack for getting that huge nose of his in other people's business." He said spitefully.

Sirius sat down on the bed, "What we going to do?"

"If Snape manages to prove it, the first person he's going to go is that Lucius Malfoy, then we're going to have more problems than old greaseball..." He trailed off bitterly.

For a moment it took Sirius a moment to understand James's meaning. He gaped, "No...you don't mean..."

"Yep" Said James darkly, "If Snivelly rats out Lupin's furry little secret, he's going to have more to worry about than just Hogwarts students, he's going to have Voldermort trying to recruit him..."

Sirius groaned, "And that's not going to be something I can see Remus wanting a career path in." James shook his head, Sirius continued, "So what's the plan Prongs?"

James grinned, "We've got to leave old greaseball in no doubt that the opposite is true, or at least leave him too embarrassed to go digging any deeper."

Sirius sniggered, "Isn't that going to harm your chances with Evans?"

James tapped the map with his wand "Mischief managed...don't think it can be helped, we can't let Snivellus find out about Moony, if I have to hex Snape a hundred times a day I will."

Sirius clapped him on the back, "Glad to hear it! Wouldn't have it any other way!" He paused at James' slightly crestfallen face. "Listen, there's still some food left downstairs, y'know, if Wormtail hasn't eaten it all."

James smiled and stowed away the map before following Sirius back downstairs, back into the celebration.

_Scene changes... _

So the next day Sirius and James had decided, Peter would distract Remus for a couple of hours by joining him in the library to practice stunning spells for their OWLS, while James and Sirius would plant the first seeds of their plan. Much to James annoyance the plan involved Evans, or at least it kind of did. See, they couldn't just start a rumour by talking directly to the Slytherins, that immediately would look suspicious. But, they knew someone who was on talking terms with a Slytherin regularly.

They found Lily and her friend soon enough, they were sitting at the Gryffindor table, the boys chose their seats carefully - close enough to be heard but not close enough to look as though they wanted to be heard.

Sirius spoke first, "I dunno James... I'm not sure it's a great idea..."

"What do you mean? It's a great idea!" James exclaimed, with what he hoped was a confident tone.

"Well, Remus said he didn't want us to go..."

"Of course he doesn't! He doesn't want us to know where he goes every month...but we _need _to know Sirius." James said meaningfully.

Sirius tried to conceal a snigger "Don't over-do it mate." He whispered, then he spoke again only louder, the girls were definitely listening now. "Yeah but I don't know how going into the Forbidden Forest is going to help us any!"

"'Course it will! "We've seen him sneaking out there...We'll get to know where he goes and what he does." Replied James grinning.

Sirius held up his hands in mock defeat, "Okay, okay, so tomorrow night then?"

James nodded, "Just before Ogg locks up the front gate."

Sirius smiled and pretended to notice Lily and Mary sitting behind James. "Oh, hey girls! Fancy seeing you here!"

At that Lily stood up, "I don't know what you two are planning, but as Remus' friend don't you think you should be respecting his privacy?" She hissed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Said Sirius earnestly.

Lily practically snarled, "Whatever you're planning, un-plan it. Otherwise Gryffindor will end up in minus points because of you two, especially after last weeks dungbomb attack on Ogg's office!"

At that the two boys couldn't help but laugh a little .

"Oh sod off Potter!" Lily hissed, sweeping past them, her friend Mary hot on her heels.

As soon as she left James banged his head on the table. "If this works..." He said slowly "She's going to hate me even more!" He groaned.

Sirius chortled, "To be fair mate, I'm not even sure that's possible."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer - I do not own neither the characters nor the places shown in this fan-fiction. Both characters and settings are rightfully owned by JK Rowling.**

**Hey everyone :) Okay so I think I'm getting a bit more used to this site now - wahey! This Chapter focuses on Sirius and James trying to steer Snape away from finding out about Remus, they take a trip into the Forbidden Forest... Also, please leave comments and let me know what you like and don't like, I really want to improve and write some scenes that people enjoy reading! Thanks again :)**

Chapter Four - the Forbidden Forest

So everything was in place the next day, Sirius and James had planned everything, Peter would stay in the common room and they would creep down to the entrance gates for just before nine, wait until they were sure Snape had seen them and then make their way into the Forbidden Forest. There was one thing that they hadn't counted on though. Both Remus and Lily were on Prefect Duty that night.

James groaned inwardly when Sirius told him the news.

"Well that's just perfect!" He hissed, adding far too much frog powder to his potion. It bubbled and frothed venomously., "Now we're going to have to take the cloak!" He glared over to where Snivellus was sitting, his greasy hair falling in front of his face, his nose barely an inch away from the parchment he was writing on. If only he wasn't such an awful prat, then they wouldn't have to worry about all this...

Sirius shrugged and prodded his own potion thoughtfully, "James...how do we even know Snape will follow us?"

James shrugged, "Because he's a nosy git isn't he?" He peered into his potion, it had now turned an ugly grey colour when it was supposed to be transparent - if only Remus was on their table but he was with Peter two rows ahead.

"Okay class, times up! I want all ingredients away and you for you to remain seated while I take a look at your veritaserum." Professor Slughorn began to circle the room starting with Remus. James glanced at all the mess he created and pulled his wand from his robes."Scourigify!" He mumbled, immediately the unused ingredients found their way back to the ingredients cupboard.

He heard Professor Slughorn's voice. "Yes, Remus very good...I imagine even you-know-who would tell you his secrets with a drop of that!" He chuckled before correcting himself, "Still we musn't joke...musn't joke..." He moved on to Peter where a trace of surprise passed over his face, "Adequate Percy, very adequate."

James heard Sirius snigger beside him, in their five years of Hogwarts Professor Slughorn had not got Peter's name right once. He passed each student and eventually reached Sirius, where the stoutly Professor grinned gleefully. "Ah excellent work Sirius! Excellent! I can see where your brother gets it from, must be a Black family trait eh?" Slughorn missed Sirius's dark scowl and moved on to James.

"James! Disappointing, disappointing...what went wrong?"

From across the room he heard Snape and Avery laugh quietly.

James smiled confidently, "I got a little enthusiastic with the frogs powder Professor."

Professor Slughorn smiled kindly, "Easily done...still better luck next time!"

_"I got a little enthusiastic with the frogs powder Professor!" _Sirius imitated between snorts, "Sometimes I wonder why we're friends."

James scoffed and then kicked him from under the table, the pair of them spent the next two minutes trying not to laugh.

"And finally Lily!" Professor Slughorn's voice boomed, "As always, perfect! I honestly don't know where you get it from dear girl! You sure you're not related to a wizard somewhere along the line...?"

James sat up straight, some of the Slytherins were exchanging knowing looks.

"Nope," Answered Lily proudly, "Muggle-born through and through."

Slughorn shook his head in wonderment. "Remarkable...just remarkable. Now, ten points to Gryffindor as promised and this small vial of cheering potion." He clasped his hand's together. "Until next week!"

Immediately the sound of scraping chairs filled the room. James and Sirius waited patiently for Remus and Peter to catch up.

"That was really difficult..." Peter whined, staring at his burnt fingers.

Remus sighed, "Well I did warn you not to touch the cauldron..."

_Scene changes..._

That night Sirius and James crept our from behind the painting wrapped in the invisibility cloak. Peter fast asleep in bed and Remus patrolling the corridors with Remus.

"Do you reckon I can be made Head Boy without being a prefect?" James whispered.

Sirius let out a short bark, "Unlikely, why?"

James didn't answer - truth was he was incredibly jealous of the evenings Remus got to spend alone on patrol with Lily.

They arrived on the first floor. "Shall we take the cloak of here?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Yeah," James answered, "He needs to see us leaving."

Silently they took off the cloak and walked down the stone steps, James stuffing the cloak into his bag as they went. They were right on time, three minutes to nine, they nodded to each other and opened the huge wooden doors.

They strolled out onto the ground, it was a chilly night, the night breeze felt oddly foreboding. Immediately they began their journey to the Forbidden Forest

"Is he following?" James murmured.

Sirius casually glanced back, James heard his friend swear under his breath. "Yeah...and the slime brought company."

James grimaced, "Avery or Malcibur?"

"Both."

James was about to give up on the whole thing when he realized something. "Brilliant!" He said, "If all three of them can't find anything, they might not believe him in the future!"

The two boys continued to walk a little faster, walked briskly past the gamekeeper's but, from the corner of his eye James could just about see three shadows following them.

They were in the woods.

James and Sirius grinned at each other, there was no way old Snivelly would see this coming. The stopped in a clearing and waited, it wasn't long until the three Slytherins arrived.

Snape was tall for his age, although you wouldn't know it as he always had his shoulders in a hunched position, he had jet black hair that stopped just above his shoulders and it was thick with grease. His black eyes narrowed when he saw them. Beside him stood two rather large boys, Avery and Mulciber, James had heard that they were already Death Eaters (although this was just a rumour) either way, he detested them both.

"What...are you doing here?" Snape asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Could ask you the same question." Sirius replied coldly. Sirius's dislike of Snape had grown since his younger brother had arrived at Hogwarts. Snape and Regulus were always together, which made it more difficult for Sirius to hex Snape.

The five boys watched each other carefully. Not moving.

"Come on Severus, this was a waste of time." Grunted Mulciber, regarding the two Gryffindors with great disdain. Slowly, Avery and Mulciber turned to leave.

"No!" Cried Snape angrily, "I know they're hiding something! I know Remus is a-"

"Is what?" Interrupted James, "Vastly more interesting and likable than you will ever be?"

The corner of Snape's upper lip curled. "You think you're so clever Potter. But I know what he is."

"Hang on..." Avery whispered, putting his hand into his robe, "If this isn't where Lupin goes at night, then why are you here?" Avery glanced at James and Sirius who were now both smiling slightly, to Snape, "You idiot!" Avery shouted, "They knew you'd follow them!"

All five of the boys now withdrew their wands but before the three Slytherins knew what was going on James had shouted "CONFRINGO!" Aiming at a nearby tree, and Sirius yelled "FUMOS!" Grey smoke erupting from his wand surrounding them. James felt Sirius hand on his arm, and he was pulled out of the smoke.

The two boys watched as the tree that James had aimed the blasting curse at fell sideways, landing on the ground with an almighty crash. All the while the shouts of the Slytherin boys filled the air as they grappled inside the great ball of smoke, unable to see where they were going.

"Do you reckon it's enough to alert the teachers where they are?" James whispered.

Sirius shrugged and grinned, "Can always help the teachers find their way." He raised his wand above his head and immediately from it's tip great red sparks went into the air above them.

"Come on, the smoke will fade soon." The two boys grinned at each other, James took out his invisibility cloak and they were gone.

As James and Sirius walked back to the castle they passed Professor McGonagall sweep through the castle ground towards the Forbidden Forest, closely followed by Ogg the groundskeeper. Neither looked too Happy to be out of bed.

James clasped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Finally they reached the common room where they took off the cloak and burst out laughing.

"Did you see Avery's face when he realized?" Cried Sirius, "Snape won't be forgiven for that in a while!"

James laughed but stopped abruptly when he saw two figures sitting by the common room fire.

Lily stood up looking absolutely furious, Remus beside her, his Prefect badge glinting from the fire and looking so disappointed that James felt a rush of guilt.

"What won't Snape be forgiven for, Sirius?" Lily asked coldly.

Sirius grimaced and looked at James apologetically, it was a look that James knew usually meant that Sirius was about to make a bad situation worse.

"Well..." Said Sirius, "I don't think Avery's going to forgive Snape for the pink lingerie he sent him. I mean it's not really his colour is it?"

Lily's nostrils flared. "I will find out what you two did." She hissed, then she stormed up to the girls dormitory.

Remus shook his head. "What have you two done?"


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER - The characters and settings in this fanfiction belong rightfully to JK Rowling. **

**Hey again :) this next chapter just follows on from when Sirius and James tricked Snape, Mulciber and Avery into following them into the Forbidden Forest, I hope you've liked what I've written so far and if you have any ideas or anything you'd like to include just let me know :) Enjoy! **

Chapter Five - Lily and Snape

The next day was awful, all through breakfast James had to endure Remus's lectures while Lily threw him furious glares from across the Gryffindor table.

"Guys I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. Besides Dumbledore won't let Snape find out." Remus explained calmly, as he spread some butter on his toast. "So there was no need to get yourself into even more trouble."

Sirius seemed completely unfazed by both Remus's disappointed tone and Lily's ever watchful eyes. "Listen Moony you say that but _we_ found out didn't we? Besides, we think if Snape did have solid proof, you'd have more than just Hogwarts students after you."

Remus put down his toast and placed his hands delicately on the table. James couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the jagged white lines that ran across them. "What are you saying?" He said quietly.

Sirius rolled his eyes and leaned across the table, "Voldermort. You know he's been recruiting werewolves, he's already got Fenrir Greyback."

"I am _nothing _like Fenrir -"

"We know that." James cut in, keeping his voice at a whisper, "But Voldermort probably doesn't - oh quite Pettigrew! - Voldermort problem sees you all as just the same, viscous weapons. If he knew what you are Remus, he'd recruit you and if you turned him down, he'd see you as a threat."

Remus regarded his friends carefully, "Well then.." He said slowly, "I guess this means the end of the Marauders."

"What?" James, Sirius and even Peter had exclaimed at the same time - the whole Gryfindor table had paused to look at them.

"What do you mean end of the Marauders?" Hissed James.

"Well, if Snape and his friends do start following me every full moon, they are going to find it suspicious to see a fully transformed werewolf hanging around with a dog, a stag and a rat..." Remus looked at them all knowingly and suddenly James knew what he was getting at.

"Oh don't be stupid Moony." James snapped, "We don't care if they find out about us!"

Remus smiled slightly, "Yes but I imagine you-know-who would quite like a werewolf and three animaguses on his side...not to mention you three aren't legal animaguses and I very much think that Severus wouldn't mind informing the Ministry of Magic that."

"Look, we didn't spend three years practicing that particular piece of magic for you to still wind up alone on a full moon!" Sirius said.

"Besides, we still need to finish the map." Grinned James.

The four boys continued to eat their breakfast in silence. After a while Peter finally said; "What would the Ministry do if they found out about us?" His beady eyes shifty nervously from friend to friend.

"Not much they could do, is there?" James said wonderingly, "Good question Wormtail, I imagine they'd just have to put us down on the list..."

"And fawn over how brilliant we are to have achieved what we have so young." Sirius said dreamily, "I imagine that there would be a whole queue of young witches desperate for us to teach them how we did it!"

James snorted, "And I'm sure you'd be a very available teacher."

"Naturally!" Sirius said mockingly, "I can't just keep my talents and knowledge to myself can I James? That would be just plain selfish!"

Remus shook his head and noticed that Peter still looked rather worried.

"What's wrong Peter?"

"W-what about you-know-who? What would he do?" He asked quietly.

The marauders all stared at each other in silence for a moment. It was no secret that Voldermort was recruiting, looking for people with particular qualities that he could use to his advantage... and people known to refuse would go mysteriously missing only a few days later. Remus was right...three animaguses and a werewolf would definitely peak his interest. James frowned, Death Eaters would not dare to cross Hogwarts boundaries, Dumbledore made sure of that but that didn't mean that people weren't being asked to join...he glanced over at the Slytherin table, he knew some of them had been boasting about being asked to join...what would they do if Voldermort offered them a place on his side? They'd protect each other, he thought defiantly. They would die fighting if they had to...side by side.

"We'd protect each other." James said, cutting the silence, "The four of us, we'd do the right thing."

Sirius clapped his friend on the back and grinned, Remus smiled and nodded slightly, looking almsot a little lost for words and Peter looked slightly reassured.

"Besides Wormtail, even if we all die and you're the only one left, all you'd have to do is turn into a rat!" Sirius explained, a grin still plastered onto his face, "And I dunno, join a wizarding family as a pet or something, I mean who would even think of looking for you there? No one would pay much attention to a rat!"

_Scene shifts to Snape and Lily._

Snape whimpered slightly as Lily placed a some murtlap essence on the cut above his eye.

"Ow!" He said, angrily brushing his hair from his face with his arm.

"I have no sympathy for you." Lily said simply, "You shouldn't have followed them in the first place." She closed the lid on the murtlap bottle and the two students made their way to the grounds.

"But I _know_ Remus Lupin is a-"

"Look Severus, even if Remus is -and I'm not saying he is!" She warned, "Even if he is a werewolf that doesn't stop him being a perfectly nice person and quite frankly Sev, it's none of your business."

Snape opened his mouth to argue but then must of thought better of it. They sat underneath the tree next to the lake, it was a nice enough day, the sun was shining and there was just the right amount of breeze.

"Still doesn't explain why Potter would want to lead me to the forest." He grumbled under his breath.

Lily sighed and leaned against the tree, the lake bubbled slightly and a large tentacle emerged for a brief second. "Well," She said, "if you're right and Lupin _is_ a werewolf, then Potter was probably just trying to protect his friend, if not then it was probably just to make a fool out of you...either way, please stop following him."

Snape frowned but didn't argue, it was at that moment a large tawny owl swooped down in front of them, landing gracefully in front of Lily, a fat white envelope in between her beak. Excitedly Lily took the envelope and ripped it open, her eyes scouring the page eagerly after a moment she looked crestfallen. She double checked the envelope before looking up at Snape.

"She didn't write anything back..." She whispered. Her eyes watering a little. "Mum and Dad said she's too busy to write but how can...I mean, it takes two minutes to write a letter, doesn't it?"

Severus didn't know what to do or where to look, so settled for staring at the ground awkwardly.

"She can't stay angry at me forever, can she Sev? We used to be so close and now..." She trailed off.

Snape looked around nervously, Lily's eyes were almost as red as her hair now. Timidly he reached for her hand. She looked up surprised, he smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile. The two students sat there for a moment and everything was peaceful until...

"Oi Snape!"

Severus turned around, standing behind him merely a few feet away were Avery and Mulciber. Snape's hand immediately recoiled from Lily's.

"Come here."

Snape stood up with an apologetic look at Lily and went over to Avery and Mulciber.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hissed Avery "She's a _mudblood."_

Snape flinched slightly, "I know but-"

"And on top of that she's a Gryffindor!"

Snape glanced over his shoulder to see if Lily could hear but she had already gone.


End file.
